The meeting of minds
by EK
Summary: Oneshot. Thoughts on the meeting that would change the course of history.


I must be crazy, typing the first part of this the night before a big test.  ^^   But I didn't want this idea to pass. Of all the ideas and plans I had thought up, this one was the most feasible and the nicest.  Then, this thing got finished in my frustration just after that big test.   This will hopefully be my first entry in the fall TFME contest, so I would really welcome comments and suggestions to improve this piece before it's sent off to Mir. Of course, I will upload the final entry version here, too.  Hope you like.   Even if you don't, thanks for reading.   

………………………….

She has seen me.  

_Oh, no………._

I did not exactly want to tell her.  At least, not like this.  After all that she had done for me. 

_Of course I am grateful that he saved me.  But, but………it can't be……………_

I did not want to tell her. 

_That he is…………_

That I am…………

**Hitokiri**** Battousai.**

_All these people lying at my feet………_

It was easy work, comparatively. But still…………

_He did it all by himself. He brought them all down. He could have killed them if he wanted. If it weren't for him, Gohei would have slashed my throat, the dojo would pass to him, and…......and………it can't be! Why did he just save me?!  _

In my former days I would have made short work of those thugs, and they would not have their lives.  Never mind that the man named Gohei used my name and had maligned it. The me who took countless lives under that name, was buried more than ten years ago. Now this woman knows who I am. The terrible reality of who I am. I let the young lady see even this. 

I really did not want to do it, but I had to do it. I value life more than reputation.  

_I thought it was a big joke. Suddenly, it isn't. This, rather scrawny, little man before me was a master swordsman………THE master swordsman of the Bakumatsu.  The terror of a nation. I thought it was just an awful mistake of mine. In my desperation to get someone, anyone, who had the NERVE to ruin my father's good reputation, I maligned an innocent sword-carrying civilian. Seriously, I was not wrong?!  _

I wanted to be nothing more than a vagabond to the kind young lady. After all, despite her assumed rudeness, she did give me a warm place to sleep. But if I did not intervene, she would be in over her head. She might even have died…………and I will NOT have another woman die in my presence, especially for my sake.  

But now, she knows. And like all those other people who took me in, she will either throw me out summarily, or she will be so scared of me that I have to do it myself.  

Oh, well. I do have to apologize to the young lady for all the trouble.  She does deserve some sort of explanation for all this.  

"I'm sorry, Miss Kaoru. I didn't want to deceive or hide from you. It was just something I didn't want to talk about if I could. Excuse me."    
  


_"Wait . . . wait . . . WAIT ONE MINUTE!!"_

"Oro?"

_"How am I supposed to run the school by myself?? Can't you help me for just a little!! I could care less about someone's past!"_

What…………….did she just say? 

_Did I really say that?_

She does not care about my past?

_Do I really NOT care about his past? _

_Be rational, Kaoru. This man is dangerous…………well, he used to be dangerous………maybe, just maybe, he isn't dangerous anymore. After all, he did save my life………Be RATIONAL, Kaoru!! You're just feeling sorry for this raggedy-looking man. You shouldn't, you shouldn't! What if he attacks you in the night? What if he, what if he suddenly………………but no, he's looks too nice for that! _

_What if he really is just a vagabond now, and he really just wants a place to stay? _

Is it true? Finally, someone who does not care who I used to be? I must be hearing things. Maybe, like those other scalpers, she will let me stay a few nights, until she contacts the police, or some people remotely connected with me. Is that why this young woman is being so kind? Is there something behind all this?  

**Is this for real? __**

Maybe not.

_Maybe not.___

_Why should I force him to stay here? Nothing holds him here. He owes me nothing, I owe him nothing. He saved my life, it's nothing to him. He would then go on his merry way, and forget about me.  _

I would get this woman into more trouble if I stay here. She is already in enough trouble as it is.  The earlier I leave, the better.  

"It's better that I go. You can finally clear away the disgrace from your school. If the real Battousai stays here, you'll lose everything."

_Yes, I know all that, but something tells me………..something……………it would not be right to let him go. _  
  


_"I didn't say I wanted Battousai to stay! I want the vagabond—"_

_That sounded too desperate. I don't need a man here so badly that I have to beg! _

The……….vagabond?  She wants the vagabond? She wants…………me……………just me…………to stay? Not the reputation I have made for myself?  Just I?    

_Great, Kaoru! You just HAVE to get the most dangerous man from the Bakumatsu to stay with you! Otherwise, you just have to get this vagabond from who-knows-where to protect you. You are out of your mind, Kaoru! _

But she has turned her back on me! What does it mean? Is she afraid of me? But her spirit…………tells me otherwise.  She is brave. Unsure of herself, but she is unnaturally brave.  Just like…………her…………but in a very different way.  A way, I have never seen in a woman before.  

_But…………he's not responding. He's not saying anything. Is he mad at me? I certainly don't want him to go, but I still have to put up a front.. Of course he can go if he wants to! I just hope he won't.    _

_"Well, fine! If you have to leave then leave! But if you're leaving, at least tell me your name." _

My name? Which one? But the lady already knows my name as an assassin and a war machine. Why would she want the name of a vulnerable little boy, who grew up to be a reckless killer? Does anyone other than my master actually care what my name is?__

_"Battousai was the name of the patriot, a long time ago. But, then, I guess you wouldn't want to tell me your real name--?"_

Is it possible? Is she really asking for my name? As a person? As another person, like herself? __

_His name.__ I deserve that much from the man who saved me…………don't I? I, at least, want to know, who this man is. This man who risked his neck and made himself known, just to save me. Me, even if I'm a nobody to him. Who am I to make him stay? _

SWISH……………

_He's leaving. I thought so. I should have expected as much.  _

CLAP.   

_He's gone. And I did not get to know who he was. I wanted to say thank you to that kind vagabond. May the gods be kind to him as he goes on his way.  _

_……………………_

"…………………Kenshin. Himura Kenshin. That's my name now. I'm a little tired of traveling."

That is who I am, who I really am, from now on. Himura Kenshin.   

_He's still here! It can't be! It can't be! _

Am I certain I am not making a mistake?

If I have to stay somewhere, I would rather be staying, and protecting, this young lady.  She is something I have never seen before…………and I think………..I would like to stay a while and learn more about her.  

_I am not mistaken! _

Yes…………I am not mistaken.  __

"A vagabond never knows where he's going or for how long. But if you don't mind that-- I'll stay with you a while."

I am not sure where this decision will lead me. 

_I'm not sure what will happen next. _

**But one thing is certain. **

**I will share this adventure with you.   **

_……………………………………_

More than I like even my favorite alternate pairing, I will always love the official canon pair.  Thank you for reading.  


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